2008 Toyota Tundra CrewMax Nitto Tires - Sky Rocket

Catching big air with a 4x4 is easy. Here's how it works: Find a sand dune or a mound of dirt, line vehicle perpendicular with aforementioned launch pad, back up 50 feet, ensure seatbelt is fastened, tightly grip steering wheel, mash throttle, and enjoy the flight.

Unfortunately, that's where the easy part often ends. The impressive hang time and awe-inspiring beauty of a rig in flight can be followed by a gut-wrenching thud, an ear-splitting crunch, and a violent regurgitation of expensive parts.

Fortunately, vehicles can be built to handle big air landings and general abuse. Take, for instance, this '08 Toyota Tundra. After several big air launches, it was no worse for the wear. The key to its resilience lies in the fact that when Nitto Tire set out to build this rig, they specifically designed it to fly, and land, reliably. Naturally, this didn't magically happen. It took an infusion of tried-and-true off-road desert-racing technology. Read on and see how they did it.

A Donahoe-built rear bed cage adds structural stability to the Tundra. It is made from 13/4-inch, 0.120-wall DOM tubing. The cage has an integrated rear bumper, tire carrier, mounts for the triple-bypass shocks, and a Power Tank mount. In addition, the tubing travels through the rear of the CrewMax cab and continues inside the truck, where it provides occupant protection as well as a mounting point for items like the seats. The eight-point interior cage was fabbed by the team at Hill Performance Solutions in Signal Hill, California. The folks over at South County Autobody filled and painted the area of the cab the cage travels through to give it a clean, finished look.